Local athletic trainer thriving at Nebraska

Monday

Dec 31, 2012 at 4:21 PM

Athletic training has taken Raymond Champagne II from the sugar-cane field of Louisiana to the cornfields of Nebraska and numerous places in between.A 2008 graduate of Vandebilt Catholic, Champagne started his athletic training journey in high school as an eighth-grade manager for the girls basketball team before working his way to trainer for the football team and other sports.Then as a student at LSU he worked with the women's basketball team and the football team.

Kelly McElroyStaff Writer

Athletic training has taken Raymond Champagne II from the sugar-cane field of Louisiana to the cornfields of Nebraska and numerous places in between.A 2008 graduate of Vandebilt Catholic, Champagne started his athletic training journey in high school as an eighth-grade manager for the girls basketball team before working his way to trainer for the football team and other sports.Then as a student at LSU he worked with the women's basketball team and the football team.Champagne, 22, has also been an intern with the Houston Texans twice and graduated from LSU with a bachelor's of science in athletic training.Now he is an athletic trainer graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., and works with the football team, which plays 11-2 Georgia of the SEC at noon today in the Capital One Bowl from Orlando, Fla., on ABC.Nebraska is a Big 10 school that went 10-3 this season."It's funny because in 2009, I went with LSU's football team to the Capitol One Bowl, and I am back here now," Champagne said via a phone interview on Saturday night. "I was only a student at LSU, and now I am on staff as a certified trainer, so I get a few more perks, and with only four certified trainers on the staff, I have more responsibilities."Champagne said it's an honor to work as an athletic trainer."The ability to work with Division I players, it is something you don't take for granted," Champagne said. "I could not have asked for something better. If it was not for LSU preparing me, I can honestly say I probably would not have had this position."Champagne said he used contacts at both LSU and with the Houston Texans to secure an interview with Nebraska before he got the graduate assistant job with the Cornhuskers.He said Nebraska fans take their football seriously. "At Nebraska, people live, breathe and die Nebraska football. The other sports are successful, but the tradition Nebraska has is football," Champagne said. "The fans live for that Saturday game. One thing I miss from LSU is the night games, but the fans here are remarkable."Vandebilt girls basketball coach Kathy Luke helped Champagne get his start."I knew Raymond about three years prior to his coming to Vandebilt. My husband and his mother were good friends, and we would stand together during Mardi Gras," Luke said. "He was very shy and a little apprehensive to put himself out there. I asked him when he got to Vandebilt as an eight-grader to be a manager, and it took him two weeks to get back to me. But he was so good that I told Mark King, who was the head football coach, and the story takes off from there."When Vandebilt started sponsoring Champagne to attend athletic training camps over the summers is when he decided he wanted to pursue it as a career. "That's when I really realized how much I enjoyed it," Champagne said. "Some of the stuff I was doing in high school was some of the same stuff people do in college and in the NFL. It is an honor to work with so many people who have all this experience. But I had four years at Vandebilt before some people even start their undergrad. I have improved my taping skills, and my clinical evaluations on the field have improved. I know people trust me to get the job done."Luke said Champagne's dedication is what makes him so good at what he does."He really found his niche. You would not find a more dedicated kid and one more eager to learn," Luke said. "He really blossomed. He was voted homecoming king his senior year. To watch him grow and see what he became makes you proud. He has always had that potential. He just needed someone to guide him a little. He has that desire to help people, and that is why he is so good at what he does. He will continue to be very successful in his field."Luke added that despite all of his success and all of his journeys, Champagne always remains in touch."Every time he comes in town, and this is the truth, and you don't find this from many kids," Luke said, "he reaches out to me and thanks me for giving him that start. He has never forgotten where he came from. A phone call asking how we are doing and telling us how he is doing means more to me than anything."After he finished his graduate assistant work at Nebraska next year, Champagne said he will look into a job as an assistant or head trainer position somewhere or possibly spend two years with the Texans performing a graduate internship.But no matter where he ends up, Champagne said he will always enjoy his life as an athletic trainer."The athletes respect me and treat me as a part of the team, and the team gets my all, whether you are the starting quarterback or a guy who doesn't play, I treat everyone the same," Champagne said. "I treat every day like an adventure. I don't see it as a job. I am having fun, so I know I am in the right place. I have so many people to thank for that. I am really grateful. It's a thrill."

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